Summer 2013 - Highland Park Heritage Trust

Volume XVIII • Issue 3
JULY – AUGUST – SEPTEMBER 2013
Los Angeles Mural Ordinance
by Antonio Castillo
H
aving once been regarded as the mural
capital of the world, Los Angeles may soon
be able to have another opportunity to be
revered as a place where creativity is expressed
across the blank surfaces of our neighborhoods.
Since 2002, the City has prohibited murals, due
in part, because of concerns with the billboard
companies. One of the effects that led to this ban
was that billboard companies began circumventing
the process to display their commercial advertising.
Some companies applied for permits to install
art murals, only to turn them into commercial
advertising.
After an arduous process, a proposed mural
ordinance is finally making its way to the City
Council for consideration. The purpose of the new
ordinance, according to the City Attorney is “to
legalize existing ‘Vintage Original Art Murals’ and to
regulate the installation of new Original Art
Murals.” The ordinance does two major things:
First, it grandfathers all existing Original Art Murals;
and second, it provides criteria for new murals.
According to the Los Angeles Department of
Cultural Affairs, there are well over 1,600 murals
in the City and a share of these murals are located
within the Northeast LA neighborhoods.
Although murals are used to convey a variety
of messages and created for different reasons, the
Highland Park Heritage Trust has a keen interest in
our murals because of their ability to educate and
tell a story in our local history. Our neighborhoods
inherited an art form of artistic importance that
emphasized the themes of community, cultural
pride, and economic struggle from great muralist
during the late 60s and into the early 80s. With an
ordinance in place, our neighborhoods can reclaim
the rich cultural tradition of murals and promote
our heritage by keeping history alive.
Please Don’t Let This Be
Your Last Newsletter
L
HPHT Lummis Day Booth, June 2, 2013.
Photo by Al C. Strange
ast September a mailing was sent to those
who had been lapse in renewing their membership.
This label on this newsletter will have an “s”
next to your name if you have not renewed. We
treasure our members and you are our lifeblood,
but we need your support.
Please take a moment to renew your membership and continue to help us with educational
activities in the schools, Historic Cultural Monument nomination efforts, Our Cornerstone, and
the bi-annual awards.
Thank you for reaffirming our continuing efforts.
Soda Tasting 3
by Anne Marie Wozniak
I
t is said that the third time
is the charm—but the upcoming “Soda Tasting 3” at
Galco’s Soda Pop Stop could
not be more captivating of
fascinating.
Save Sunday, July 28th
for your introduction to
“Heppo”—a short squat
bottled soda from San Antonio, Texas. It is a new line
that has been out for about
six months. Among its flavors are peach, black cherry,
huckleberry, root beer and
cream.
The “Americana”, a very
fine independent line, will
also be featuring an orange
cream, a honey-lime ginger
ale, a huckleberry, a creamy
root beer and a honey vanilla.
The “Bunda Berg” line,
from Australia, is brewed like a beer but is a soda. The line offers
guava, peach, pink grapefruit, blood red orange, lemon-lime bitter
and a ginger beer.
“Mountain Valley Spring Water”, which has been the official
spring water served at the White House since 1932, will also be
available.
Highland Park’s original “White Rose Spring” label, which was
reintroduced by John Nese for the original soda tasting, will be featuring a new cherry flavor.
“Soda Tasting 3” will also be introducing a “soda creation studio”,
where you can create your own soda. While creating your own soda
and while stocking up on your favorites, you will again be helping
the Friends of the Southwest Museum. All proceeds that evening
will directly support the saving of the Southwest Museum, L.A. ‘s
first museum.
A special “Thank You” to John Nese and Galcos Soda Pop Stop
for hosting the Friends of the Sothwest Museum for “Soda Tasting 3”.
Go to our facebook fan page “Highland Park Heritage Trust”
and click “Like”.
Please follow our blog: historichighlandpark.blogspot.com
Do you have a historic home or preservation story you want to
publicize? Please contribute articles, photos and anecdotes to our
blog. Email to info@hpht.org.
2
2013 Officers
President: Antonio Castillo
antonio.castillo@hpht.org
Vice President: Robert Spira
Secretary: Justine Leong
Treasurer: Charly Kemp
Membership Chair:
Anne Marie Wozniak
Board of Directors
Steve Crouch
Carmela Gomes
Charles Fisher
Linda Miller
John Nese
Linda Phelps
Nicole Possert
Louisa Van Leer
Ann Walnum
Jonathan Silberman
Our Cornerstone is the official newsletter of the Highland Park Heritage Trust,
a non-profit community organization.
Editor: Carmela Gomes
Layout: Future Studio
Distribution: Dedicated member
committee
Email articles to: Info@hpht.org
Mail to:
HPHT
P.O. Box 50894
Los Angeles, CA 90050-0894
HPHT message line: (323) 908-4127
www.hpht.org
Find us on FACEBOOK
Advertisement Policy:
Advertisements will be accepted for this
publication from advertisers who are in
keeping with the intention and goals of
this organization. Contact Charly Kemp
for submission info and rates.
HIGHLAND PARK HERITAGE TRUST
PHOTOS FROM THE HPHT TOUR OF ABBEY SAN ENCINO
Top left: Jackson, Melinda, and Severin Brown were there to welcome the
tourgoers.
Above: Tourgoers walking towards the dungeon, as others wait their turn.
Left: Louisa Van Leer docents the dungeon.
Photos by Al C. Strange
California Environmental Quality Act Reform –
State Bill 731
by Antonio Castillo
S
enate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg
has proposed a measure to “modernize”
the California Environmental Quality Act
(“CEQA”) with the introduction of SB 731 - a
bill meant to strengthen the Act’s protection
of the state’s environment and residents while
modernizing the 43-year old law to help the growth
of California’s economy. “This measure sets the
framework to encourage smart, environmentally
sound growth by streamlining the environmental
review process without compromising the quality
of life Californians deserve and expect in our
communities,” said Steinberg. The primary intent
of SB 731 is to streamline the CEQA process for
certain development projects and to increase
awareness for all CEQA projects through revised
notification and reporting processes.
Sounds simple and straightforward, right? In
reality, though, it is clear from the language that
SB 731 could create a change in the treatment
of certain historic resources by precluding the
Aesthetic impacts of a residential, mixed-use
residential, or employment center project within a
“transit priority area” from being considered as a
YOur Cornerstone • JULY - AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2013
significant impact on the environment. A “transit
priority area” means an area within one-half mile of
a major transit stop that is existing or planned.
Aesthetics is among a list of environmental
factors that must be analyzed in a CEQA study. The
concern here is the potential for impacts on historic
and cultural resources. The result is that within
transit priority areas, Aesthetic impacts would not
be analyzed and mitigation would not be required.
Although historic resources are analyzed within
the Cultural Resources section of the CEQA study,
the Aesthetics section is often used to analyze
neighborhood character of historic areas – those
issues of style, size, materials and landscaping that
make neighborhoods unique and complement the
historic fabric of the area.
The bill is currently making its way through
the State Legislature and now is a good time to let
our legislators know that SB 731’s language must
be amended to clarify that this exemption does not
apply to projects that may adversely affect Historic
Resources. The Highland Park Heritage Trust will
continue to monitor this bill.
3
NELA Newspaper Pilot Project Update
with Kate Dundon, Project Manager
K
ate Dundon, archivist and librarian, was
brought on in April as a project manager for
the Preservation and Digitization of Northeast
Los Angeles Community Newspapers project in
April of this year. This project is generously funded
by the Haynes Foundation, and is supported by
the Highland Park Heritage Trust, the Eagle Rock
Valley Historical Society, and Occidental College.
Kate is working with a leadership committee that
includes HPHT president Anthony Castillo, board
member Carmela Gomes, ERVHS president Eric
Warren, and Occidental librarians and archivists
Bob Kieft, Dale Stieber, and Anne Mar to develop a
strategy for digitizing and preserving a collection of
Northeast LA newspapers that is jointly maintained
by all three partner organizations.
Kate has been evaluating the physical condition
of the collection’s newsprint and microfilm, and
identifying and preparing a representative sample
to be digitized. She has also corresponded with
Brian Geiger of the California Digital Newspaper
Collection (UC Riverside), who is advising the
project team on procedures for digitization and
access. Finally, with the help of Oxy’s Center for
Digital Learning and Research, she has launched a
blog for the project, which will be used to discuss
and promote the team’s work to preserve and
digitize community newspapers of Northeast LA.
Please visit the blog at: http://cdlrsandbox.org/
wordpress/nelanewspapers/.
Kate presented on the project to the members
of the HPHT and ERVHS at the HPHT meeting
on July 8th, suggesting that those interested in
the areas of copyright, fundraising, and historical
research should participate in the project. Please
contact her at dundon@oxy.edu.
Documenting the History of
the Ebell Club of Highland Park
by Anne Mar, Assistant College Archivist & Metadata Specialist, Occidental College
T
his summer, the Ebell Club of Highland Park
and Occidental College’s Department of
Special Collections and College Archives will
be organizing Ebell’s historical records. The intern
hired for the project, Marc LaRocque, is working on
his Master’s degree at San Jose State University in
the Library Information Science program. He will
be arranging, describing and re-housing the records
that have been stored in a room in the historic
clubhouse on South Avenue 57 and Figueroa. Marc
also holds a PhD in History from UC Irvine and
has a special interest in the history of community
groups. You can contact him at specialcollections@
oxy.edu.
PHOTOS FROM LA
HERITAGE DAY
A gathering of
hundreds of LA history
aficionados took place
at El Pueblo on Sunday,
April 14. Charles J.
Fisher was among the
members representing
the Highland Park
Heritage Trust.
Photos by Antonio Castillo
4
HIGHLAND PARK HERITAGE TRUST
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............Package Details..............
NEW Micro Business/Individual - Advertising Only............................... $60
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Small Business/Small Institution - Advertising Only .................................$100
- One Year advertising in the Cornerstone Newsletter (4 issues) (standard business card size)
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Small Business/Small Institution Sponsorship Package............................... $400
- Sponsorship Listing on the Highland Park Heritage Trust Map
- One Year advertising in the Cornerstone Newsletter (4 issues) (standard business card size)
- Heritage Trust Website - Sponsorship listing
- Heritage Trust Awards – Occurs every other year. Sponsorship listing on printed materials
- One Year Benefactor Membership to Highland Park Heritage Trust ($50 value)
Corporate/Institutional/Sustaining Sponsorship Package ..............................$1,000
- Prominent Sponsorship Listing on the Highland Park Heritage Trust Map
- One Year advertising in the Cornerstone Newsletter (4 issues) (double business card size)
- Heritage Trust Awards – Occurs every other year. Prominent sponsorship listing on
printed materials
- Heritage Trust Website - Prominent sponsorship listing
- One Year Angel Membership to Highland Park Heritage Trust ($150 value)
Further Info & Circulation:
Albrecht Durer, etching, 1525
Highland Park Heritage Trust Map – Printing 5,000
Cornerstone Newsletter – viewed 500 times per issue and growing
Heritage Trust Awards – A signature event of the Highland Park Heritage Trust
Please make checks payable to: Highland Park Heritage Trust P.O. Box 50894, Los Angeles, CA 90050-0894
For more info please contact:
Louisa Van Leer
PH 323-633-0497
l.vanleer@pacbell.net
ADVERTISE WITH US !
Highland Park Heritage Trust
NEW Micro Business/Individual .....
Great for local artisans! ..... $60
Small Business/Small Institution ............................................$100
Small Business/Small Institution Sponsorship Package ....... $400
Corporate/Institutional/Sustaining Sponsorship Package .... $1,000
All packages include
ONE YEAR
of advertising in
“Cornerstone” plus
HPHT membership
and more!
See reverse for details.
Salomon de Caus, etching, 1612
What we do:
The mission of the Highland Park Heritage Trust
is to preserve the heritage of Los Angeles'
Arroyo Seco communities through education,
advocacy and preservation projects for the
benefit of present and future generations.
www.hpht.org
6
For more info please contact: Louisa Van Leer PH 323-633-0497 l.vanleer@pacbell.net
Advertisement Policy: Advertisement will be accepted for this publication from advertisers
who are in keeping with the intentions and goals of this organization. Offer valid until 7-31-14.
HIGHLAND PARK HERITAGE TRUST
James E. De Long, Architect (1921-2013)
by Charles J. Fisher • photos by Charles J. Fisher
J
ames E. De Long was
in Alaska working in
already a Taliesin Felheavy construction.
low studying under
Interrupted by World
Frank Lloyd Wright when
War II, he joined the
he rented a small house
Army Air Corps. Being
on Avenue 43 (now Canthat he already knew how
yon Vista) on Mt. Washto fly a plane, he was
ington. He would go on
made an instructor and
to design several homes,
remained stateside in that
including his own, on the
capacity for his entire
hill. When the Highland
three-year stint, somePark Heritage Trust had
what regretting at the
its first tour on the hill
time that he never served
in 1993, Jim was there to
in combat.
conduct visitors through
After the War, he
Scholfield House, Mt. Washington.
two of his earliest comworked for a local archimissions, the Wolford and Scholfield Houses.
tect who taught him the rudiments of the practice.
Through that tour, Jim introduced the HPHT to
His boss supported his desire to go to Taliesin but
Modernism in a way that most of us had never
urged him to get a degree at Cranbrook, or Columunderstood. It was a true turning point for many
bia, first.
members who had concentrated on saving Victorian
In 1993, when he was editor of the Journal of the
and Craftsman jewels but had not yet embraced the
Taliesin Fellows, he wrote “Recollection of a SumPost World War II masterpieces that are found on
mer’s Day — How Mr. Wright Saved Me From the
Mount Washington.
Coils of College”, about first meeting Frank Lloyd
Born in Eagle Rock on November 4, 1921 to
Wright in July of 1946 when he stopped to pay a
Guy and Vada De Long, he lived close enough to
visit to Taliesin West while passing through Arizona
Wright’s “La Miniatura”, in Pasadena, that he beon his way to Columbia University. Wright said that
came aware of the Master at a young age, but did
college would corrupt him and offered him an apnot learn of the possibility of studying with Wright
prenticeship on the spot. If the meeting with Wright
through a Taliesen Fellowship until he read about
had not intervened, his life and career may have
it in his teens. In 1935 his family took the train to
gone in a very different direction.
Wisconsin where he got a chance to see more of
De Long’s career in architecture spanned almost
Wright’s work. They picked up a new 1936 Nash
seven decades and his houses still command the
Ambassador from the factory in Kenosha and drove
highest prices in today’s market. Yet the two on Sea
it back on Route 66, discovering America on the
View Lane, which are both now Los Angeles City
way home.
Historic Cultural MonuGraduating from
ments, nominated by the
Eagle Rock High in 1938,
Trust in 1994, are still
at the age of 16, he was
considered some of his
too young for Taliesen.
greatest work. True to
He spent a year in Art
character, Jim De long
School and then went
personally conducted
to a university to study
the Cultural Heritage
architecture, but, after
Commission through the
recoiling at the stringent
houses during the obligaBeaux Arts curriculum
tory inspection.
that was still the norm
Jim De Long passed
at that time, he switched
away at 91 on April 10,
to civil engineering. He
2013, leaving a built
dropped out after a few
and written legacy that
months and spent a year
speaks for itself.
Wolford House, Mt. Washington.
YOur Cornerstone • APRIL - MAY - JUNE 2013
7
EVENTS
• 2nd Monday, Monthly HPHT Board and Program meetings, 7PM to 9PM, July 8, Aug 12, Sept. 9, NEW LOCATION: Ebell
Club, 131 S. Avenue 57, Highland Park
• 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, Highland Park/Garvanza HPOZ, 6:00 PM, Arroyo Seco Library Community Room,
6145 N. Figueroa St, Highland Park
Saturday, August 4, Los Angeles Heritage Alliance Quarterly Meeting, 10 AM Location TBA
Saturday, August 24, 10AM to 12:30 PM, Bi-Monthly, Docent led, Sycamore Grove Walking Tour, reservations by
Thursday prior to tour, online www.hpht.org or (323) 908-4127
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Several members have indicated their interest in being part of the planning and production of the HPHT Awards Program
in February 2014. The Awards Committee will be meeting in September to plan. Members who have responded via their
membership forms will be contacted. If you are someone who would like to be included please send a message via our
info@hpht.org message center, drop a note to the post office box address, or call the info phone line.
www.asjournal.net
Serving the communities of Northeast Los Angeles
Journal
At one time, HPHT had a float in the Annual Holiday Parade. This year, the parade on N. Figueroa Street will be on
December1. If you think you would like to help to create and be a part of an HPHT float, please use the information access
to volunteer.
The
Arroyo
Seco
www.asjournal.net
Our Annual Christmas Party is held in December. Last year, Antonio Castillo, HPHT Board President, was the host on the
second Sunday. If you would like to host this year’s event, please let us know.
Serving the communities of Northeast Los Angeles
Journal
The
Arroyo
Seco
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Serving the communities of Northeast Los Angeles
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